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will be directed to increasing Tusla-owned residential care settings, including special care, thereby reducing its requirement for privately operated Special Emergency Arrangements; — investment in recent budgets has allowed Tusla to, amongst other things: — increase supports to foster carers; — hire additional staff including social workers; — begin to increase … care, and improve IT systems. Tusla's budget allocation in 2026 grew by 14% to €1.4 billion. This includes a capital allocation of €35 million, which will allow it to increase State-owned residential services and reduce reliance on special emergency arrangements. Recruitment and retention challenges exist across

disabled people who were hit by the Government with €1,400 of cruel cuts in the budget. They have been on the streets demanding again and again an emergency disability payment, not the full cost-of-disability payment which they were promised, not even getting back … know there are over 300,000 people in arrears on their energy bills right now. We know that the Government's budget made all of that worse. Despite the misinformation that is put out there by the Taoiseach, we know and the ESRI, the Parliamentary Budget Office

broaden the remit while mindful that we do not have an infinite budget and will have loads of applications. We need to have a conversation as we emerge from Covid and in a new world around our attitudes to alcohol and online. What the Deputy is saying reflects

cost-of-living crisis in general but in particular a demand for an emergency payment for those who have seen €1,400 in cuts savagely implemented in the past budget. A striking feature of the speeches was people responding to the ridiculing that happened in here about

Government priority, and the increase in homelessness figures is a concern for the Government. Budget 2026 allocated €513 million in current funding to ensure that individuals and families experiencing homelessness are provided with emergency accommodation and other supports. The key objective is to support families to exit homelessness

should not have left them in that situation, and the budget should not have left them in that situation. The groups that are advocating for these people are calling very clearly for a €400 emergency disability payment because many cannot make ends meet under the current pressure. This

transition plan, if recommended, over a 12 to 24-month period, to ensure uninterrupted service delivery; and — strengthen financial oversight mechanisms, including unified budgeting and improved reporting transparency to the Oireachtas; and — establish or reinforce an independent statutory inspectorate to ensure robust oversight under any revised governance model … available. In fact, emergency arrangements that were intended to be exceptional have instead become the norm and a recurrence within this failing system. That fact alone should cause all of us in this House to pause and reflect. Tusla now operates with a budget that exceeds €1 billion

commitments outside of the budget cycle, but if the whole of this issue was looked at in the round as the Deputy suggested as part of the future of Cork report, I would be willing to engage enthusiastically on any findings that might emerge from that

Department seeking emergency funding assistance to facilitate the timely delivery of the required remedial works and to ensure continued safety and serviceability of the county's road network. I have seen the extent of the damage. It is truly shocking. The roads budget does not cover

their energy bills under the Minister’s watch. This comes after the Government slashed cost-of-living supports in this year's budget. It left households to fend for themselves, including elderly people and people living alone. People with disabilities were left €1,400 worse … really shameful and the price increases since this war began have turned a cost-of-living crisis into a cost-of-living emergency. Where has the Government been? It has been missing in action for the past two weeks. Throughout that time families have really been suffering. Many

active applications for residential services, with 281 assessed as priority 1. We are investing and there are investment plans in the current budget, with an extra 20% to create additional places in new residential developments and so forth. I have put it on the agenda of the next … than just the allocation of funding, though we will have to allocate funding. How this has evolved is unacceptable. The focus is on emergency solutions all the time. Many elderly parents are very distressed and anxious, understandably so, about what will happen to their loved ones if they

ensure the delivery of safe, effective cancer services in all regions, working to reach the same high standards across the country. This new budget approach will build on the success of the national cancer strategy, which has, over the years, fostered a culture of improvement and innovation … supported by our 2025 programme for Government commitments, the acute oncology nursing service has expanded, keeping ever more cancer patients out of emergency departments when they feel unwell. The rollout of the SSMFU framework is also helping recovering patients to avoid unnecessary hospital outpatient appointments, and it provides

foster a sense of security, especially among the most vulnerable in our society; — that our communities rely on the Gardaí to respond to emergency calls, patrol our neighbourhoods, prevent, detect and investigate crimes; — that An Garda Síochána play an important role in the recently established Community Safety Partnerships … Garda Síochána has increased by almost 50 per cent since 2020, with investment of over €2.74 billion for 2026; — that through successive budget increases the Government has ensured that An Garda Síochána has the resources, leadership and technology to deliver on its mission; — that a major capital plan

theasa tí, tá siad tréigthe. Beidh Sinn Féin ag brú le haghaidh fíorghníomh anocht. These soaring fuel prices are a real emergency for households requiring real action, not the half measures the Government presents today. We will not watch on as the Government lets people down again. These … people they look after and people with disabilities, who, it should be remembered, were left €1,400 worse off in the Government's budget. We will therefore move an amendment to the Government's financial resolution to deliver the maximum excise cut possible for diesel and a similar

people pleading for it to help? The decision time is now and there are no more hiding places for the Government. This emergency legislation would immediately reduce the cost of diesel, petrol and home heating oil. It would make sure the Government's plan to increase the cost … prices under control, the Government took away the cost-of-living support that so many people were depending on. It brought forward a budget that left workers worse off. It is no wonder we have a situation now whereby 320,000 people cannot pay their energy bills. People

billion for 2026 and the enhanced NDP provision for the health sector for 2026–2030 is €9.25 billion; — the Government is progressing multiannual budgeting across the health services, and capital investment is already on a multiyear basis; — since 2020, total staff working in Government funded HSE services … National Cancer Control Programme has developed a number of programmes to improve capacity at specialist cancer centres, and to support patients in avoiding Emergency Departments; — the Government has provided significant investment in cancer screening programmes in recent years, and funding of €2.9 million was provided

said earlier this week, people understand that the Government is not responsible for the international energy crisis that has emerged. What people hold the Government responsible for in the first instance is the framework it had in place in advance of the crisis. In the second instance, they … electricity bills. One in four households are in arrears with gas bills. When the Government withdrew the energy credit supports as part of budget 2026, it justified its action on the basis of a projected inflation rate. That rate has proven to be 50% lower than projected

housed and nobody left to advocate for their son's or daughter's well-being. Only after parents die, when there is an emergency situation, will the State finally step in. A vulnerable person is then put up for tender to private contractors. What sort of a care … thousands of families where elderly parents are working as full-time carers in their 70s, 80s and even 90s - four years of record budgets and little to show for it. When a parent dies, an adult with an intellectual disability is left stranded. They will lose their

those for petrol, other fuels and home heating oil, through the roof. These increased costs are already feeding into general inflation. The 2026 budget was predicated on a 2% inflation rate, and that rate was already being exceeded before the current crisis. Before the current crisis as well … diesel and home heating oil, scrap plans to increase the cost of home heating oil on 1 May 2026, immediately pay a €400 emergency winter payment and increase the fuel allowance and extend its duration by at least four weeks. I support this motion

lack of response and the need to get it done faster, that should not be happening. We are in a state of emergency. We need EirGrid, as much as anyone, to step up to the mark to ensure that investment in the grid is developed at an expedited … economic benefit and job creation in our local communities. I recognise the €1.1 billion the Government has put together already in relation to budget 2026 in the area of energy. I recognise the significant billions of euro in investment the Government has committed to the grid. There

presentation of our national cultural heritage, as well as deepening cultural connections across the island of Ireland. It also builds on the emerging consensus in the Oireachtas for an enhanced focus on regional balance and opportunities for participation by all. It must be understood that this … grants under the arts centre funding scheme totalling €440,000 to the Droichead Arts Centre in Drogheda and An Táin in Dundalk. In budget 2026, my Department was allocated €6 million for a new programme of capital funding for the arts and cultural organisations across the country

latest price hikes arrived. They were struggling because Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael removed vital cost-of-living supports in the most recent budget and actually left working people and families worse off this year than they were last year even before the recent hike spikes. The Government … premature or have they finally realised that, for many families, the cost-of-living situation has moved beyond a crisis and become an emergency? Of course, one of the reasons that the Government refuses to act is simple. Higher fuel costs are not an accident. They are Government

lowest incomes, those reliant on pensions or disability allowance would be €250 worse off this year as a result of the Minister's budget and the acceleration of energy prices. Those prices were already the highest electricity prices in Europe and that was before the onset … terminal. The Government must act now and introduce the Social Democrats' energy credit for 800,000 households most in need, implement the emergency payment for disabled people, tackle price gouging and, crucially, chart a new path for cheap, domestic, renewable energy to become the bedrock of our country

clinicians. Nothing is that straightforward in terms of disability. The Deputy is right that the emphasis, particularly in the southern region, is on emergency cases at the moment. I will talk to the Minister about that hearing issue raised by Deputy Mark Wall to see what supports … exactly well served by it either. I will talk to the Minister for an overall review in advance of the next budget. I understand that the number of special classes that have been sanctioned - Deputy O'Rourke mentioned that the number is 351 - is already higher than

costs skyrocket, it is not an inconvenience for ordinary people. Rather, it is profound. It is an immediate strain on already stretched household budgets. As the Tánaiste probably knows, prices at the pumps are now regularly surging over €2 per litre. The cost of home heating … renewable energies. We need relief now. Workers and families need relief. Here are the steps that can ease the pressure. This is an emergency that demands an emergency response